Arsenal Women have been drawn at home to Brighton in the Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals, a tie that brings a familiar WSL opponent back to Meadow Park with Wembley now in clear sight.
Arsenal Women have been handed a home quarter-final against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, with the tie set for the weekend of Saturday April 4 and Sunday April 5.
The FA confirmed the quarter-final line-up after Monday evening’s draw, made live on TNT Sports ahead of the final outstanding fifth-round tie between London City Lionesses and Tottenham Hotspur. The other quarter-finals are Charlton Athletic v Liverpool, Chelsea v London City Lionesses or Tottenham, and Birmingham City v Manchester City.
Brighton's Form
Brighton arrive as a mid-table WSL side, but their league numbers point to inconsistency rather than momentum. They are seventh with 17 points from 15 matches (five wins, two draws, eight defeats) and have conceded 20 goals, leaving them with a slightly negative goal difference.
That said, the FA Cup has offered them a different kind of platform, and the return of Fran Kirby adds a clear threat in a one-off tie. Brighton won 2-1 away at West Ham in the fifth round, with Kirby scoring early and then assisting Kiko Seike for the second.
Arsenal’s route to the last eight
Arsenal reached the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over Bristol City in the fifth round, a game in which Kim Little again set the tone and the visitors managed the contest with minimal drama. That result kept Arsenal in a competition that often rewards control as much as flair, especially once the field narrows to mostly WSL opposition.
What it means from here
With the quarter-final not until the weekend of April 4-5, the immediate consequence of the draw is timing rather than tactics. Arsenal now have a fixed FA Cup date to plan around as the WSL programme and any European commitments compress the calendar, and the squad picture between now and then could shape the tie as much as the match-up itself.
From Arsenal’s perspective, this is the stage where the cup stops being about navigating the rounds and becomes about taking opportunities. Home advantage should matter, but the last eight is rarely forgiving, particularly with a field now dominated by WSL opposition and teams used to playing without being overawed by the occasion. Arsenal will see a semi-final as the minimum outcome, yet the requirement will be the same as in their best cup performances: control the rhythm early, avoid avoidable concessions, and make the pressure tell before the game has a chance to become complicated.